The Rose
by Katryna Black
Summary: Time is running short before the Androids arrive, but it seems that Piccolo is too occupied with something else to care...Complete
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z. Otherwise, I'd be very *very* rich.  
  
  
  
Gohan's young body shivered involuntarily, despite the warm, sunny day. Only two months remained until the Androids were supposed to arrive. The past two years and ten months had been spent training non-stop for that day. That is, until now.  
  
Piccolo was two hours late. Piccolo was never late for anything, especially training.  
  
"Is Piccolo here yet?" Goku yelled from the doorway. Gohan turned and saw his father leaning against the doorframe of their small house.  
  
"I told you, Dad. I'll tell you when he gets here! And he's not here yet!" Gohan said, annoyed.  
  
"Oh, okay!" Goku replied happily, and went back inside. Gohan sighed, and turned back to the sky. He tried not to be worried about Piccolo, but the thought of the androids arriving early played at the back of his mind.  
  
  
  
~ Three Hours Earlier ~  
  
A piercing scream ran out through the forest, waking Piccolo from his deep trance. His black eyes flew open, and darted to the direction of the scream. As much as he hated being interrupted from his meditation, one of the human traits that had found its way into his heart was a sudden care for strangers. The scream rang out again, and Piccolo let out a moan of frustration. He stood up from his place on the grass beside the stream, exerted his power force downwards, and flew off into the sky. He had flown for about half a mile before he saw the owner of the scream.  
  
A woman. A beautiful woman. That is, for a human.  
  
The woman was standing at the top of a cliff that overlooked Piccolo's favorite meditating place: the waterfall. She was right up near the edge, with her back towards the water below her. In her hands she held a long stick, blood was flowing freely from her right leg, and a look of fear masked her beauty. In front of her stood a pack of ravenous wolves, which explained her fear and wound.  
  
As Piccolo slowed down his acceleration, the woman noticed him. She looked at him, and she temporarily forgot about the wolves. The lead wolf noticed, and leaped towards her. The wolf's momentum caused the two bodies to fall off the cliff. Piccolo's heart stopped as he sped up again, praying that he would be able to reach her before she reached the sharp rocks that lay far below…. 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't sue. Please.  
  
Gohan and Goku had waited faithfully for the next hours, before they gave up and went to spar without Piccolo. Soon, the day ended, and there had been no sign of Piccolo.  
  
Three days passed before Gohan woke up in the middle of the night, awakened by a familiar presence.  
  
"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan said, surprised that his mentor decided to show up at his house…at three a.m. in the morning. Soon, the surprise turned to anger, and Gohan punched Piccolo's face as hard as he could. Piccolo went flying out the window. Gohan followed.  
  
"Hey kid! What did you do that for?" Piccolo yelled, rubbing his green cheek.  
  
"Where have you been? Dad and I have been worried sick!" Gohan yelled, tears of relief and anger flowing down his cheeks. Relief, because Piccolo was alive and seemed unhurt; anger, because Piccolo had worried him so much.  
  
"Gohan, I'm really sorry about that. I did not mean to worry you and your father," Piccolo said. Gohan nearly fell out of the sky at that: Piccolo said that he was sorry and he actually said it with sincerity!  
  
"Piccolo, are you okay?" Gohan asked.  
  
"Yes Gohan. I've never been better in my life," Piccolo responded, a strange smile playing on his lips. "Would you like to spar?" Piccolo said before Gohan could respond.  
  
"At this hour?" Gohan asked.  
  
"We're wasting perfect sparring weather," Piccolo taunted. Gohan smiled, before attacking Piccolo. The two sparred for a few hours, before Gohan collapsed from exhaustion and lack of sleep. The lawn was the perfect substitute for a bed, so Piccolo and Gohan laid down to rest there.  
  
"Piccolo?" Gohan ventured. "What did you mean, 'You've never been better in your life?'"  
  
Piccolo gave that mysterious smile again, and it seemed strange on his usually hard, stone cold features. "Do you know what love is?"  
  
"Sure. I love you, I love Mom-"  
  
"No, not that kind of love. True love. The type of love that a man has for his mate," Piccolo said.  
  
"Um, yeah, I guess. Oh! You mean the type of love my parents have."  
  
"Yeah, that's it."  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Gohan, I've met someone. And I think…I think I love her." 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Dragonball Z. *Sigh* why do we have to put these things here? Why can't there just be an understanding between us and the DBZ owners? It would make life so much easier…  
  
  
  
Gohan stared at Piccolo, pondering on what had just been said. Piccolo…"Mr. I'm-too-tough-to-show-my-emotions-now-leave-me-alone-before-I- blow-your-brains-out"… was in love? With a human woman? Impossible, Gohan must have heard him wrong!  
  
"Yeah, kinda hard to believe, ain't it?" Piccolo laughed, reading Gohan's face. Gohan noticed that Piccolo's eyes had a strange sparkle in them. "Her name is Virginia."  
  
"Virginia?" Virginia was such a plain, ordinary name that more than often belonged to a plain and ordinary woman! Gohan had always imagined the type of woman Piccolo would fall in love with, but she always had a tough name like Olga and was no where near ordinary.  
  
"Isn't it a beautiful name? Course, she looks more beautiful than she sounds, and her personality is twice that."  
  
"What does she look like?" Gohan asked, trying to picture what this Virginia would look like in a wedding dress…he had given up on imagining Piccolo in a tuxedo.  
  
"She's got long blonde hair that looks like gold when the sun hits it. Her eyes are like pools of clear water, and if you stare at them long enough, you can see right down into her soul. And her smile…oh, she has such a wonderful smile," Piccolo whispered, closing his eyes.  
  
Gohan, after Piccolo's little speech, came to the conclusion that Virginia was some sort of witch and had cast an evil spell over Piccolo, which explained why he was acting so out of character.  
  
"Look, the sun's coming up," Piccolo said, sitting up and looking in the direction of the horizon. Gohan also sat up, and saw that a small sliver of sky had turned pink.  
  
"So, you've been with her for the past three days?" Gohan asked.  
  
"Yes, I have."  
  
"But why?" Gohan yelled, standing up. "The Androids will be here in less than two months! We have to train! We have to get ready for them, and all you're doing is frolicking around with some girl while the end of the world is coming!"  
  
"You think I haven't thought about that? Gohan, listen to me!" Piccolo stood up and grabbed Gohan by the shoulders, staring him in the eye. "I know that the end may be coming, and I also know that there is high possibility that I might not live through it. Gohan, stop squirming and listen to me! Two months, Gohan! I've just met the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I've only got two months! Two months to give her my every being, every inch of my soul, to prove to her that I love her, and to be loved by her! Gohan, what if you had just met your family for the first time, and you only had two months with them? You'd want to spend every single waking moment with them! Wouldn't you?" Gohan looked away from Piccolo's pleading eyes, unable to answer his question.  
  
But one thing was for sure: he was glad he wasn't old enough to fall in love, especially with a witch like Virginia. 


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: You know what? I'm sick of these. From now on, no more disclaimers. So, GO AHEAD! SUE ME! CAUSE YA' KNOW WHAT! KATRYNA BLACK ISN'T MY REAL NAME, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU CAN'T FIND ME! HA!  
  
Okay, no more Mountain Dew for me…  
  
A/N: I might not be updating for awhile, because my browser has decided to go all screwy and not let me sign in. Fortunately, I have such great friends like edward-tivrusky-5 to do this for me. ::hugz ed:: You should check out her Cowboy Bebop story, Fifty Years into the Past. Its S-P-E-S-H- A-L!  
  
  
  
"Dad! Your left side is unguarded!" Gohan yelled. Piccolo and Goku where high up in the air, fighting each other. Goku had noticed the Piccolo was back, but didn't ask any questions. Either he was smart enough to know that Piccolo had told Gohan, and that Gohan would eventually crack, or he just was too stupid to care.  
  
The latter was the more likely reason.  
  
"So, Piccolo how'd you meet her?" Gohan asked, floating next to the two adults as they threw punches.  
  
"Who?" Goku asked. Piccolo saw Goku's hesitation, and delivered a kick to the head that sent Goku flying to the ground.  
  
"She was being attacked by wolves, and I saved her before she fell onto a bunch of sharp rocks," Piccolo said.  
  
"Huh?" Gohan asked.  
  
"At the waterfall," Piccolo said, as Goku came in for the rebound.  
  
"Oh, okay. That makes more sense. So, why aren't you hanging with her today?"  
  
"Her?" Goku asked, letting his guard down again. Piccolo once again knocked Goku to the ground.  
  
"She had to go back to work."  
  
"Work?"  
  
"Yes, Gohan. Work. It's what normal people do for a living."  
  
"Oh. What does she do?"  
  
"She's a photographer."  
  
"Ah. By the way, when do I get to meet her?"  
  
"Who?" Goku asked, and Piccolo kicked him to the ground. Again.  
  
"When the time is right," Piccolo said, before diving after Goku.  
  
"Wait a minute! Time out!" Goku yelled before Piccolo could attack him. "Who are you guys talking about?"  
  
"Virginia," Gohan said.  
  
"Who?" Goku asked.  
  
"Piccolo's girlfriend."  
  
"WHAT? PICCOLO HAS A GIRLFRIEND! THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE!" Goku exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, tell me about it," Gohan said.  
  
"When did he meet her?" Goku asked.  
  
"I am standing right here, you know," Piccolo said.  
  
"About three days ago," Gohan answered.  
  
"Really? So, is she the reason he hasn't been training?" Goku asked.  
  
"Um, hello? I am still here…"  
  
"Yeah. Says he's madly in love with her, and wants to spend every waking moment with her," Gohan stated, matter-of-factly.  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"That's enough!" Piccolo yelled, before sending an energy blast at Goku and attacking Gohan.  
  
'I guess the witch's spell in wearing off,' Gohan thought to himself, as he, Piccolo, and Goku continued to fight. 


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: A bit of OOC for Piccolo in this chapter…once again, I rewrote this chapter…and a different note is next…

Never before had Piccolo been so happy to stop training.  Sure, he loved watching Gohan become more powerful with every blow, and seeing how long he could hold up against Goku, but for the first time in his life, Piccolo had something more important to look forward to.  Something more important than martial arts.

His heart pounded inside his chest as he reached Satan City, and he landed in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of town.  He walked up to a house and, without knocking, let himself in.

A smile crossed his lips as the sound of humming reached his acute ears.  As quietly as a big, Namekian man could, Piccolo removed his weighted cape and turban, laying them down on the nearby couch before creeping towards the humming.

The humming led Piccolo to a small kitchen, and he saw a woman standing at the far end with her back to him.  She stood at the sink, and she hummed a funny little tune while she washed some dirty dishes.  She wore a pair of jeans and a white lace blouse, and her long, blonde hair was pulled messily back, and strands of hair fell in front of her face.

Piccolo had never seen anyone quite as beautiful as her.

He came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist.  She gasped in surprise; she had not been expecting him until later that evening.  He smiled in amusement before leaning down to kiss the top of her head.  His seven-foot frame towered over her, and she barely reached his collarbone.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a vase full of roses on the table.  The flowers had started to wilt, and Piccolo made a mental note to bring her some new ones in the morning.

"I missed you, Piccolo-chan," she whispered softly, staring up at him.  Her eyes looked like Heaven to him.

"I missed you too, Virginia," he admitted softly, planting a kiss on her soft lips.  This woman managed to bring out every weakness in him, and he hated and loved her for it.  As soon as the kiss was over, Piccolo found himself staring deeply into the woman's eyes.

Virginia's eyes held such love for him, it was hard to imagine that they were the same eyes that had first looked upon him that day at the waterfall…Her eyes had been filled with fear at the sight of a large, green man with pointed ears and fangs.  Piccolo could tell that at that moment, she had considered throwing herself back to the wolves.

But, it had only lasted a moment.  For Virginia had a kind heart, and because he did save her life, she had chosen to trust him and let him bandage her wound.  She had even let him fly her home, and had offered him to stay the night, since he had nowhere else to go.

He snapped back from his flashback when he heard Virginia moan seductively.  He looked down in surprise and saw that he had begun to massage her thigh, and she was now slowly grinding her hips against his crotch.  He responded by turning her around quickly, and kissing her passionately on the lips.  Virginia pressed her body up against Piccolo's, and he could feel her heart pounding against his chest.

Then, as if a foreign spirit had possessed Piccolo, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her roughly down onto the table, straddling her hips.  He began to kiss her neck, and worked his way down her neckline.

"Piccolo…" she whispered softly, and Piccolo thought he heard a hint of protest in her voice.  He chose to ignore it, and continued to kiss her.  He also failed to notice that she had stopped responding to his actions.

"Piccolo, stop!" she yelled suddenly, shoving against his chest.  Piccolo suddenly snapped out of the spell he was under, and rolled off of her.

"What do you think you were doing?!?" she yelled, her voice lined with pain.  He turned and looked in her eyes…The same eyes that had been looking at him with love and trust, now looked at him with sadness and betrayal, and tears threatened to spill from them.

"I'm…I'm sorry…" he whispered helplessly, desperately wanting to erase what he had just done…what he had almost done.

"Don't-"

"Why didn't you want me?  Don't you love me?" he pleaded suddenly.  "Don't you?" he repeated, his eyes bearing deep into her soul. She turned away, unable to hold his gaze for fear that he would see the guilt that her eyes held. Still, his eyes never left her, and she felt his eyes tear away her very skin, exposing her naked heart.  
  
"So, that is how it is," he stated finally, rising to his feet. Tearing his eyes away from the   
pitiful image of the sobbing woman, he stalked out of the room, and out the door.  
  
"Piccolo!" her voice called after him, and he stopped before flying off into the night.  
  
"Wait, please. Don't leave," she begged him, stopping a few feet away from him. He turned to her, and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks, but it was surprisingly easy for him to hide his emotions.

"Why?  Why should I stay?  You don't love me," he said.

"Piccolo, what the hell do you know about love?  Love takes time-"

"How dare you question my feelings!  Of course I know what love is!"

"Do you?" she asked him, her eyes daring him to answer her question.  He returned her gaze and snorted through his nose, before taking off into the sky.


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Mine. Only... not.  
  
A/N: _Rereads story_ I... wrote this? Did I really write this? And you! Yes you! Did you really read this? How could you read this crap without wanted to gouge your eyes out?  
  
Piccolo: STOP INSULTING THEM!  
  
Authoress: It's not an insult! And... why am I updating this?  
  
Piccolo: You're proving to the world that you are not just some mindless fangirl who jumps from fad to fad without finishing what she started.  
  
Authoress: But I AM just some mindless fangirl who jumps from fad to fad without finishing anything.  
  
_Loud, strange noises are heard_  
  
Piccolo: _Holds up authoress, who is now bound and gagged and slightly bruised_ Please excuse your authoress' absence as we are now going to... reeducate her.  
  
Authoress: _Whimper_  
  
Does it snow in the DBZ universe? Well... it does now.

_**Insert placeholder, since FF.NET won't let me put one here**_

The Androids came, caused mass destruction, and then left. Tears were shed, lives were lost, good earth was destroyed. And yet, the dawn came.  
  
Piccolo had not talked to Virginia since their last fight. He hadn't let himself think about her during the war against the Androids.  
  
Except that he had thought about her. A lot. Thoughts of her had even distracted him during battle, had almost cost him his life. He was only able to stop worrying about her when he promised himself that he'd come apologize to her when all of... this was over. And even then he still thought about her, but it was what had kept him going, what had kept him alive.  
  
A smile twinkled in his eyes as he saw the last snow covered hill where her home lay just beyond. He sped up, the wind almost blowing his turban from his head. His cape flapped wildly behind him, preventing any snowflakes from building up on his person. In his hand he grasped a red rose.  
  
Unable to contain himself, he landed on the ground and ran the rest of the way. His heart pounded in his chest and his breath was short from anticipation. It wasn't until he reached her doorstep did he notice.  
  
Nothing. There was nothing in front of him but snow.  
  
He spun on his heels, his head jerking back and forth, up and down. His eyes darted in every direction. Yes, he had the right spot. Her house was right there. It should have been right there.  
  
But it wasn't. Just snow.  
  
Realization crept up on him like a snake. His eyes narrowed dangerously. His shoulders shook, his hands crumpled into fists.  
  
He wrapped his arms around his chest, threw his head back, and screamed. His ki flared, melting the snow around him.  
  
The rose lay forgotten on the snow. It slowly burst into flames and soon was ash.

**_Insert placeholder, since FF.NET won't let me put one here_**

Well, it's finished. I can sleep easy now. It's taken me two years, but I finally finished it.  
  
I'd like to thank each and every one of you who read this story, who enjoyed it, and who were kind enough to leave such kind and encouraging words for me. I apologize for taking so long to end this. Poor Piccolo.  
  
I reread this story, and I realize that I left out so much and that it still holds so much potential for a great short. I wrote the majority of this story in less than a day, and I was young. It's not what I had hoped it to be. I left out a main part of the story: The rose was supposed to serve as a motif, atleast one rose being in every chapter. I realize now that I forgot that in every single chapter except this one.  
  
For those of you who think I just ended it this way just to end it, you thought wrong. When I planned this story, this was EXACTLY how I wanted it to end. I'm proud of myself for keeping true to at least one thing with this fic.  
  
Thank you to all, and if I ever rewrite this like I wish to.. Well, I hope to see you there!  
  
Sincerely, Katryna Black 


End file.
